


Out Of Character

by shikastemari



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shikastemari/pseuds/shikastemari
Summary: Modern AU for ShikaTema, where they met online. Written for ShikaTema Week 2019.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Out Of Character

Temari always thought of herself as collected, steady, realistic. She didn’t daydream, and when she did, it was rarely about the future. She had her goals in life set and it didn’t involve anyone, but her - and maybe a few dogs. Relationships were never something she gave too much thought, let alone kids.

So, thinking about building a life with someone she met online was so unlike her, and still, she never was so certain about something before. But the thoughts had hit her like a truck the past few weeks and she still couldn’t drop it.

Her phone buzzed next to her in bed and she grabbed the device reluctantly.

It wasn’t him. _Again_.

He didn’t text her the whole day and Temari hated it bothered her. She hated how a single individual could make her question things her mind was already settled. Hated how he made her wonder how it would be like if she changed her priorities.

He became a priority of hers and she didn’t even know how.

Temari would never understand why she decided to download one of those dating apps. _Just for funsies_ , she convinced herself. Not like it was the first time, anyway. Many times she had done it before, just to see who was there, swipe right a few times, but always keeping her distance.

She couldn’t even remember when she swiped right for him, or if they matched right away. As usual, she carried on.

His first message came a few days after and it took her a few hours to see it. A lot of guys had texted so far, but she never answered. She couldn’t see the point of starting a conversation if she didn’t want anything.

It was about time she deleted the damn app.

But before she did, somehow, his message got her attention. It wasn’t a cheesy pickup line - which later, Temari would be surprised, since being cheesy was kind of his thing - or a message complimenting her about her looks.

It was a message about the weather.

Somehow, it got her curious about the kind of game he was playing. She tried to think which pickup line response could follow it, but nothing came to her mind.

**> > what about the weather??**

She didn’t bother to even say hi. He hadn’t too.

**> > Decent. Don’t you think?**

Temari frowned twice. She thought about not replying, but she was bored and had nothing to do. A distraction didn’t sound so bad.

So, she replied back and that was how it all started.

Regrets about texting him back wouldn’t cross her mind, she was sure of it. The whole thing was fun, harmless and innocent even if it would last one night only.

One night, she guessed. The thing was: Temari was never that good in math.

He texted her again two days later and it happened again. The endless conversation, with random mixed topics. The whole day, without any breaks, or dead points. Every time Temari felt the conversation was about to die, he would come up with a new topic out of nowhere and she would happily tag along. He was easy to talk to, and she hated it.

The next day, she messaged him, completely dread. He didn’t reply right away, which almost made her delete what she sent. For some reason, she didn’t.

Temari had never met someone like him. The perfect balance of wittiness, intelligence, and annoyance in one person. He could easily make her want to slap and hug him at the same time and the whole situation was so new and just different from everything she had known so far. But weirdly enough, she enjoyed it.

His reply came one hour later together with an apology note, saying he was working, which led to more questions. More replies. More hours talking.

Talking to Shikamaru was natural. Countless times her friends or brother asked her why she was smiling at her phone, she just shrugged off the question, saying it was memes or whatever she could think of. Sometimes, they would flirt and Temari would get strawberry red, and she liked it.

She hated how much she liked it.

As days went by, he managed to be a part of her routine. Looking at her phone was a habit she didn’t notice she had. Many times, she got herself saying his mannerisms and she would laugh at herself of how stupid it sounded, then she would do it again.

The most logical thing was to forget about it. Stop replying to him, cut contact, move on with her life. All the time his message popped up, she could’ve ignored, but there wasn’t one single time she wanted to do it. She kept texting him back, texting him first or just randomly asking for calls when she felt like it.

Temari was fully aware of how complicated meeting each other would be. When they matched, he visited her city for work issues and as soon as he came, he left. He didn’t come back since, and the distance between their Villages did make it harder.

Yet, she couldn’t let it go. She couldn’t let _him_ go.

She should’ve known better before establishing emotional intimacy with someone so… Him.

It was ridiculous, she realized, as she moved, annoyed, in her bed. Temari couldn’t understand what was going on between them, their dynamic was nothing like she has seen before. She had no idea why she kept talking to him, or if she should even continue and yet...

Her phone buzzed again and his name popped up on her screen.

**> > I want a pug.**

But she couldn’t help herself. There were a few things she fancied about the whole thing. Shikamaru’s mind and to hear about his point of view. To annoy him, and to be annoyed by him. To just melt every time he said something sap, and to pretend it didn’t affect her at all. To argue about her favorite movies, and to judge his poor taste in food. She was certain she could write a whole list of 50 reasons why she was still doing it easily.

Her fingers moved fast as she typed back.

She knew she shouldn’t, she really did, but she hit _reply_ anyway.

**> > pugs are re _PUG_ nant, kiddo.**

**> > Excuse me? You take that back.**

She smiled, as the butterflies filled her stomach again. _You’re ridiculous_ , she thought, not being sure if it was for herself or for the guy waiting for her reply and she hated it.

The thing she hated the most about it was that she didn’t hate it, at all.


End file.
